1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to magnetic recording media, such as the magnetic recording media used in hard disk drives, and in particular to a method for fabricating magnetic recording media. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for replicating magnetic patterns on hard disk media.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Designers, manufacturers, and users of computing systems require reliable and efficient digital information storage and retrieval equipment. Conventional magnetic disk drive systems are typically used and are well known in the art. As the amount of information that is stored digitally increases, however, users of magnetic recording media need to be able to store larger and larger amounts of data. To meet this demand, designers of magnetic recording media are working to reduce the size of the features on a recording disk, because the storage capacity of a recording disk is a function of the number of closely spaced concentric tracks on the disk. Some of the recording disk surface area, however, must be used for purposes other than data storage.
Conventional magnetic storage disks utilize various types of indexing marks and alignment indicia to help keep the head properly aligned on a particular track. These marks and indicia are often recorded in servo sectors, which are angularly-spaced reserved portions of the recording disk surface that extend out approximately radially from the disk centers. Servo sectors use recording disk surface area that could otherwise be used for data storage. Consequently, servo sector information must be stored as efficiently as possible in order to provide users with the most storage capacity possible.
Additionally, as the demand to store more data on each disk increases, designers are increasing the number of tracks on each disk. However, with track densities at and exceeding ten thousand tracks per inch, the tasks of increasing data storage capacity and writing servo patterns with suitable geometric accuracy are becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, developing new techniques for manufacturing magnetic recording media remains a significant consideration for designers, manufacturers, and users of contemporary electronic devices.